LROC NAC controlled south-pole average mosaic (1 m source, Archinal et al. 2023) resampled
onto the site grid. Averaged lighting shows morphology, not a single illumination geometry.
Longest unbroken stretch of direct sunlight over one Earth year from the same horizon
model, with solar elevation swinging ±1.54° and azimuth advancing once per lunar day.
Colors stretch to about 30 days so typical ridge stretches read clearly; longer stretches
saturate at the top of the ramp. Probe reports absolute days.
Permanently Shadowed Regions are treated as never sunlit.
Longest unbroken stretch with any part of Earth’s disk above the local horizon, from the
site DEM horizon model plus a one-year SPICE DE440 / MOON_ME Earth track (2 h steps from
2026-01-01). Colors stretch to about 30 days; probe also reports longest outage.
Screening map for a polar base pad with gentle slopes under 8°, long continuous sunlight,
long continuous Earth visibility (comms windows), and a short walk to a PSR without
sitting inside one. Not an official ranking or a specific mission window.
